Felix stands in a circular room with a bunch of masks hanging on the wall. None of them looks the same: they have different colours, different shapes and different facial expressions, ranging from frightening and sad to surprised and cheerful. According to Graham, Felix carved these himself. And now he has a whole assortment to choose from for every occasion.

A large window gives a view on the village (there are some roofs visible from houses nearby). Hmm. Is there anyone else that gets the feeling Felix likes to know what is going on around him? That he finds it very important to see the big picture? Maybe thatís how he decides what mask to wear, what the best attitude towards others is.

"Adaptation and transition," Graham says, but I canít help but wonder why Felix thinks he needs masks. I mean, why does he feel he canít be himself in front of others??? Is he afraid to open up and show his true, unique self? (Felix even has his very own barcode written across his face, so he definitely is unique.)

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Originally posted by Molly What I don't understand is if he does use these masks himself or just sells them to others... do you think perhaps he started off needing masks, to cover his mark... and then as time went on he became at peace with himself? So he understands the need for masks, but doesn't need them anymore himself? I looked to see if any at all would fit him... I think they are all too small..

That seems very apt, Molly! Maybe they donít fit him anymore because heís grown so much, and now realises that although we all wear many masks during our lives, trying to fit in, in the end, all that matters is whatís inside.

Spoon

PS: Darwinia, your story cracked me up !

PPS: I miss all you guys Ė I wish I had this deck back when you were getting to know it together .

Originally posted by spoonbender
PS: Darwinia, your story cracked me up !

Thanks, I do feel this deck brought out some crazy off-the-cuff stories in me. I look back on some of them and am amazed I really wrote them. It's a great deck, one of my favourites.

I notice this with each tarot deck, they all have their little ways of inspiring some project or other, whether related to writing or art.

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PPS: I miss all you guys Ė I wish I had this deck back when you were getting to know it together .

It is kind of sad. I notice this in groups though, there will be a pinnacle, a shining moment when people jive together and do great things. It always seems to pass, but the threads are still here, which is nice.

My theory is that much like in our personal lives, group dynamics involve a bit of down time too before the next resurgence of collective madness and creative energy. It isn't something we can sustain; I think this sort of energy would kill you literally if you tried to keep it up.

So we rest and then...FLASH...inspiration and the feeling that you can work with a group almost effortlessly occurs again.

That's pretty nice, isn't it? It seems a spontaneous thing to me, you can't force it and you can't hand pick the mix of people that makes it happen, it's a random pleasure not seen too often.

Magic. I had two graphic groups at various times that were like this. It spilled out of us and we went on tangents and one person's picture or comment sent the others off in some crazy, inspirational riff of pure magic that went on and on and snowballed into more energy.

I find groups often cruel and unrelenting in their squelching of individualism. It's a rare group that has the courage to allow the individual to shine, very rare. But it is THE essential ingredient to doing great things. I have observed this several times, so I feel it a sound theory.

Originally posted by darwinia It always seems to pass, but the threads are still here, which is nice.

It's very nice to be able to read these threads! It has been a great aid in getting to know the cards, and the threads give me a lot to think about. In fact, the reason I keep on replying to these threads - even though hardly anyone responds - is because I hope they will help someone one day, just like all these old threads have helped me.

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My theory is that much like in our personal lives, group dynamics involve a bit of down time too before the next resurgence of collective madness and creative energy. It isn't something we can sustain; I think this sort of energy would kill you literally if you tried to keep it up.

I realize this and have seen it too. I just hope there will be a renewed interest in the Phantasmagoric soon.

The hijackers have been thwarted in their nefarious plot to keep this phantabulistic deck from the viewing public. Whew, it was touch and go there for a while, but I think the kidnappers got sick of babysitting Tom-Tom and decided to dump him back here.

I would SINCERELY like to thank those responsible for bringing this back to the public side. I am truly grateful to see it again.

I've got the urge to build an oscilloscope. I might have a quick hunt around for Doc Boobles and see if he can arrange to help me move it out of my studio. Lately he's been busy having several discussions with Doctor Locke about whether Christ was homoousious or not. It's always good to see discussions of substance in the theatre.

The Aeclectic Tarot Forum closed permanently on July 14th, 2017. The public threads remain online as a read-only archive and resource. More information on our decision can be found here. Thank you for being a part of our active community over the past seventeen years.